AVillage...Inc.

12/13/2017

Mississippi
native Clara Phillips has been in Albany for 56 years, and has stayed
a loyal resident to the South End ever since. She has been a part of
AVillage for the past 8 years ever since running into Willie White
one day after her church service who said, “I’m starting an
organization”. Ms.Clara has since been known as “AVillage’s
first member”, and her dedication to her work is accredited to
something her mother always told her -- “If you’re going to do
something, stick with it”. Her dedication is visible through the
creation of the 100 CDTA bus line and the annual Mississippi Day.

While
interviewing Ms. Clara, I asked her what her favorite memory of
Albany is, to which she laughed and said, “Well, at first, I didn’t
like Albany. It was too quiet”. Now, Ms. Clara said, she would
never leave the South End or Albany. Mississippi will always be home,
but Albany has become a good second home for her.

She
now occupies her time by working at the South End Children’s Cafe
where she helps youth with their homework and tries to answer all of
the questions about life they throw at her. “They keep you in
touch”, she said, when asked about how different is was working
with a younger generation. Since younger generations are more
involved with social media than Ms. Clara, they fill her in about
technology while she tells them stories about her past.

Ms.
Clara admitted that she’s not as updated with technology, but she
wishes the South End could get more media coverage to raise
awareness. “You can’t buy salad in the South End”, she said.
The importance of raising her, and many others’ concerns about the
need for jobs, health insurance, and vegetables needs to reach more
social media coverage so that change can happen.

When
asking about her history, Ms. Clara told her life story with a
reminiscent look and a smile that never left her face. From sharing
stories about the day she cooked for the first annual AVillage
Mississippi Day with an injured ankle to how she works at the local
South End Children’s Cafe to help students with their homework,
it’s clear why social media is important. Without social media
platforms, some stories never get shared. They may die with the
person they belong to, but Ms. Clara is working against that by
writing her first novel. Still in the making, From
The Beginning to Almost The End, will
share her well known recipes and the challenges she’s overcome. Her
hopes for the book is that “it might help someone else”.

People of the South End will be an occasional feature of AVillage VOICE. If you know someone with a story to tell, let us know. The Editor.

by Mahalia Cummings“It
was on those yellow pieces of paper that this organization was born,”
Albany Common Council President-Elect Corey Ellis begins his talk at
December 7th’s Thursday Meeting by calling back to AVillage’s
origin story. He talks about the way that Willie White built on an
idea. An idea that Corey first witnessed come into its own on bright
yellow flyers and on passion before the it was even fully
conceptualized.

South
End residents dream for themselves, too. Corey Ellis points out that
for too many people, the job opportunities they see always come with
a barrier or obstacle attached, so that they can see it, but can’t
grasp it. Some of these obstacles stem from educational injustice,
lack of economic opportunity, the absence of equal representation in
government, housing disparities, and racial discrimination.

For
Corey, it is about equality and equity. It is about tapping into the
entrepreneurial minds of young people, but it’s also about
institutions. “You have to have some entity that holds people
accountable.” Corey co-founded the Capital District Black Chamber
of Commerce to become an economic driving force and leverage for
people who found themselves shut out in the face of systemic
discrimination. “What about your lending practices? Your high
interest rates?” Corey speaks of crossing into a world where
institutions are no longer blocked off to marginalized members of the
community. “That’s where your institutions have to come
alive. Your churches, your chambers. Your urban league.”

The
discussion also centered on the merits of empowering yourself, any
way you can. The inherent value of unions and the importance of
advocacy was a hallmark of the meeting. Members from ECWA local
102, a construction union, were present at the meeting. ECWA Local
102 is proficient in training its members, and works with legislator
and community leaders in the city. Corey doesn’t claim to have all
the answers when it comes to this subject. But he stresses the
importance of going after the people who contract the companies in
the first place, and getting down to the nuts and bolts of how many
jobs community members will be viable for. And providing access to
that training.

When
AVillage member Ray Turnerasks
what he needs to do to achieve what Corey Calls a “sustainable,
workable, livable” community, Corey tells him that he’s already
doing it. “Being part of an organization that is based on community
growth. Being active in the community.”

Corey
is an example of what community activism does. As he said, he didn’t
come to the meeting to talk at community members. He aimed to listen.
There wasn’t always complete agreement, but conversations have to
be nuanced to make change. Corey Ellis is at the forefront of our
Common Council, filled with group of people who take a significant
role in representing the residents of Albany. As Vivian Kornegay said
at the meeting last Thursday, what affects one of our neighborhoods,
affects us all. Corey stated that the resurgence of the South End is
going to come hand in hand with aggressive change. We are all a part
of that change.

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About AVillage

AVillage...Inc., is a grassroots nonprofit organization helping to develop the South End of Albany, NY. Since it was found in August 2009, AVillage members have been working hard to create new programs and hopes in the South End and beyond.

Our mission is to improve the quality of life for residents of the South End and beyond, by reclaiming our neighborhoods, by encouraging, engaging, and empowering our communities.